Curriculum
The Graphic Design curriculum gets you thinking from the micro to the macro levels, about craft and concept, and combines physical making with digital skills to help you grow your unique voice as a designer. You'll find you have plenty of options to tailor your experience.
- Freshman
- Sophomore
- Junior
- Senior
| ID | Course Title | Credit Req |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Arts (6 cr. required) | ||
| LA122 | Writing in Context | 3 |
| LA225 | Perspectives on Society & Culture | 3 |
| Art History (6 cr. required) | ||
| AH125 | Exploring Visual Culture | 3 |
| AH210 | Intro to World Art History | 3 |
| Studio Courses (3 cr. required) | ||
| Studio Elective | 3 | |
| Seminar (1 cr. required) | ||
| FD100 | First Year Seminar* | 1 |
| Foundation Studio (15 cr. required) | ||
| FD101 | Visual Elements: 2D | 3 |
| FD102 | Visual Elements: Digital Tools | 3 |
| FD105 | Drawing 1 | 3 |
| FD111 | 3D Design | 3 |
| FD112 | Time Arts | 3 |
| TOTAL | 31 | |
| At the completion of First Year: 30 cr. earned to date | 31 | |
*FD100 First Year Seminar is required of all freshman with fewer than 30 transfer credits.
| ID | Course Title | Credit Req |
|---|---|---|
| Art History (3 cr. required) | ||
| AH213 | History of Design Arts | 3 |
| Liberal Arts (9 cr. required) | ||
| LA225 | Perspectives on Society & Culture | 3 |
| MTH101 Math or SCI223 Science | 3 | |
| MTH101 Math or SCI223 Science | 3 | |
| Studio Courses (18 cr. required) | ||
| GD241 | Design Studio I: Signs | 3 |
| GD242 | Design Studio I: Psychology of Seeing | 3 |
| GD245 | Typography I | 3 |
| GD246 | Typography II | 3 |
| GD247 | Production | 3 |
| GD251 | Fundamentals of Interactive Media | 3 |
| TOTAL | 30 | |
| At the completion of Second Year: 60 cr. earned to date | 61 | |
| ID | Course Title | Credit Req |
|---|---|---|
| Art History (3 cr. required) | ||
| Art History 200/300-level | 3 | |
| Liberal Arts (9 cr. required) | ||
| LA321 | Social Science Seminar | 3 |
| LA325 | Literature Seminar | 3 |
| Liberal Arts 300/400-level elective | 3 | |
| Studio Courses (18 required cr.) | ||
| GD341 | Design Studio II: Audience and Culture | 3 |
| GD342 | Design Studio II: Rhetoric and Persuasion | 3 |
| GD351 | Motion Graphics | 3 |
| GD344 | Marketing & Branding | 3 |
| Studio Elective from suggested menu of courses below* | 3 | |
| Studio Elective | 3 | |
| TOTAL | 30 | |
| At the completion of Third Year: 90 cr. earned to date | 91 | |
*Suggested menu of courses:
GD350 Interface & Structure; PH272 Concept / Capture / Print I; AA231 Begin Animated Arts; VID211 Begin Video; VID212 Begin Sound; Printmaking: Screen/Relief, Letterpress/Book Arts, Intaglio/Litho; IL354 Design & Image, IL252 Visual Techniques, IL254 or IL256 Digital Media Strategies, IL257 Children’s Book Illustration, IL351 Visual Vocabulary; additional GD441 GD Internship.
| ID | Course Title | Credit Req |
|---|---|---|
| Art History (3 cr. required) | ||
| Art History 300/400-level | 3 | |
| Liberal Arts (6 cr. required) | ||
| Liberal Arts 300/400-level elective | 3 | |
| LA421 | Research for Creative Practice | 3 |
| Studio Courses (12 required cr.) | ||
| GD443 | Graphic Design Advanced Studio I | 3 |
| GD444 | Graphic Design Advanced Studio II | 3 |
| Studio Elective | 3 | |
| Studio Elective | 3 | |
| Thesis (9 cr. required) | ||
| TH453 | Thesis Development (Semester 1) | 3 |
| GD 445 Center for Design or ND 301 Internship | 3 | |
| TH499 | Thesis (Semester 2) | 3 |
| TOTAL | 30 | |
| At the completion of Fourth Year: 120 cr. earned to date | 121 | |
LEARN MORE
Foundation Year
A time to explore
In your Foundation Year, you’ll be immersed from day one in media and making of all kinds from drawing, design, and sculpture, to digital tools, motion, and performance. It’s a year of discovery: a time to explore new ways of thinking and making, meet new friends, and get to know your new community.
Learn MoreThesis
Preparing for graduation
Your senior year is an exciting time of transition from student to working artist and designer. The focus of your senior year is conceiving a thesis project of your own design and producing it with the support of faculty, your peers, and a mentor who works with you one-on-one.
Learn MoreAreas of Study
Freedom to focus
PNCA offers ten undergraduate majors, all of which offer you choices in your electives and liberal arts courses. This means that whatever your major, you have the freedom to focus many of your course choices around your particular area of interest. We've outlined the following Areas of Study to give you a sense of the scope of courses available at PNCA.
Learn MoreLiberal Arts
Fortify your intellectual foundation
Liberal Arts courses round out your education, helping you become a more thoughtful, well-rounded artist and designer. Explore widely or select your courses to focus on one of what we call Areas of Study.
Learn MoreCome tour PNCA today!
Come explore and experience how PNCA is dedicated to empowering students to reimagine what art and design can do in the world.
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